Portal:Estonia/Featured article/2007 archive
This is an archive of article summaries that have appeared in the Selected article section of Portal:Estonia in 2007. For past archives, see the complete archive page.
Denmark rose as a great military and merchant power in the
In
Tartu County (Estonian: Tartu maakond), or Tartumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering to Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is 2,992.74 km², which covers 6.9% of the territory of Estonia. The population of the county is 148,992, which is 11.0% of the population of Estonia. The city of Tartu is the centre of the county located at a distance of 186 km from Tallinn. Tartu County is divided into 22 local governments — 3 urban and 19 rural municipalities.
Archaeological findings suggest that people first inhabited the territory of the current Tartu County about 5000 years ago. City of Tartu was first mentioned in historical records in 1030, then a site of a wooden stronghold. In 1224, after the conquest of the stronghold by the German invaders, Tartu became the capital of a diocese, stretching from Northern Estonia to Latvia. Since the 13th century, Tartu belonged to the Hanseatic League, and the town became a well-known trade centre in the Baltic Sea region.
One distinctive feature that has caused a great amount of interest in linguists is that Estonian has what is traditionally seen as three degrees of phoneme length: short, long, and "overlong", such that IPA /toto/, /toːto/ and /toːˑto/ are distinct, as are /toto/, /totːo/, and /totːˑo/. In actuality, the distinction isn't purely in the phoneme length, and the underlying phonological mechanism is still disputed.
Another feature that sets Estonian apart from most languages is the vowel õ ([ɤ]), a close-mid near-back unrounded vowel, which is farther back than the schwa ([ə]), but fronter than [o].
The
Although officially labeled a "non-aggression treaty", the pact included a secret protocol, in which the independent countries of
Geography of Estonia, between 57.3 and 59.5 latitude and 21.5 and 28.1 longitude, Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising east European platform. It borders the Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia. Average elevation reaches only 50m (160 ft.).
The climate resembles that of
Estonia's strategic location has precipitated many wars that were fought on its territory between other rival powers at its expense. In 1944, under
Saaremaa is the largest island (2673 km²) belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the west Estonian archipelago. The capital of Saaremaa is Kuressaare, which has about 16,000 inhabitants; the whole island has about 40,000 inhabitants.
Saaremaa is the main island of Saare County, called Saaremaa or Saare maakond in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa — literally isle's land. The Swedish and German name of the island is Ösel, and the Danish is Øsel.
According to archeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. In old Scandinavian sagas, Saaremaa is called Eysysla which means exactly the same as the name of the island in Estonian: the district (land) of island. This is the origin of the island's name in German and Swedish, Ösel, Danish, Øsel, and in Latin Osilia. The name Eysysla appears sometimes together with Adalsysla, 'the big land', perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian which refers to mainland Estonia. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between islanders and Vikings. Saaremaa was the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia and the home of notorious
The
The kerogen in oil shale can be converted to oil through the chemical process of pyrolysis. Oil shale can also be burnt directly as a low-grade fuel for power generation and heating, and be used as a raw material in the chemical and construction materials industries. Currently oil shales are used commercially for oil production in Estonia, Brazil and China, for power generation in Estonia, China, Israel and Germany, for cement production in Estonia, Germany and China, and for chemical industry in Estonia and Russia.
The
The activity of the government is directed by the Prime Minister, who is the actual political head of state. He does not head any specific ministry, but is, in accordance with the constitution, the supervisor of the work of the government. The Prime Minister’s significance and role in the government and his relations with other ministries often depend on the position of the party led by the prime minister in vis-à-vis the coalition partners, and on how much influence the prime minister possesses within his own party. If the prime minister has a strong position within his party, and the government is made up solely of representatives of that party, he can enjoy considerable authority. In all crucial national questions, however, the final word rests with Riigikogu as the legislative power.
Portal:Estonia/Featured article/October 2007
Portal:Estonia/Featured article/November 2007
Portal:Estonia/Featured article/December 2007